Rock You, Turbulent Times square off again in Ruidoso Derby

Rock You has been unbeatable since shaking Turbulent Times last November. But the Quarter Horse seeking his fifth straight win Saturday will have to deal with that rival again in the Grade 1, $943,127 Ruidoso Derby. Rock You is the fastest qualifier for the 400-yard race, while Turbulent Times is the field’s lone Grade 1 winner.

“It will be a good rematch,” said Micah McKinney, president of the Reliance Ranches operation that owns Rock You. “I’d like to see a really competitive race that hopefully ends in our favor.”

The Ruidoso Derby is the first of the meet’s three major offerings for the division. The $1 million Rainbow Derby follows July 19, with the series building to the $2 million All American Derby on Aug. 31. The purse for Saturday’s race is a record, breaking last year’s mark of $822,603.

Rock You was third to Turbulent Times when the horses met in the Grade 1, $1 million Golden State Million Futurity at Los Alamitos on Nov. 3. From that point, Rock You has been perfect, winning four straight since Nov. 24. During his run, he’s defeated older horses in the Grade 2 Bob Moore at Remington Park and emerged as the top qualifier for the Ruidoso Derby after covering 400 yards in 19.53 seconds on May 24.

“He’s really grown mentally into a very consistent horse,” McKinney said. “He makes very few mistakes, and everybody else just has to beat him. He’s not going to beat himself.”

McKinney, whose father, Gary McKinney, owns Reliance Ranches, also was quick to credit the work of trainer Eddie Willis. Rock You was one of the horses who helped the owner-trainer team win their respective titles at the Remington meet that closed last weekend. Jimmy Brooks has the mount on Rock You from post 4.

Turbulent Times will be making his second start of the year when he breaks from post 7. He’s a career winner of 5 of 6 starts and leads the field in earnings with $507,459. Turbulent Times was the ninth-fastest qualifier for the Ruidoso Derby, finishing in 19.70 seconds in his first start since Nov. 3. Eduardo Nicasio has the mount for the partnership of Jesus Avila and Jesus Cuevas. The race will be the horse’s second for trainer Brandon Muniz after he started his career at Los Alamitos with trainer Jose De La Torre.

One Valiant Hero was a $25,000 supplement to the trials for the Ruidoso Derby. He will break from post 5.